


The Seven Gifts

by snowmissus (soul_of_blaze)



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bilbo Remains In Erebor, Bilbo isn't oblivious but like, Dwarf Courting, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Erebor Reclaimed, Hobbit Courting, M/M, Mutual Pining, Thorin is awkward, Thorin is just Bad at things sometimes, kind of like its there but only a little bit, like telling people things, or it is implied that theres mutual pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:19:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_of_blaze/pseuds/snowmissus
Summary: Thorin had his crown off. This wasn’t an uncommon sight to Bilbo. Even though Fili had crafted his uncle a new crown, the weight of it still made him wary. Bilbo was not as used to seeing the dwarf’s hair gathered together in a braid that spilled over his shoulder. Or the spectacles perched on his regal nose.He would deny the ache of his heart in that moment.





	The Seven Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> hi i like tags 
> 
> happy late bagginshield anniversary i guess!!! have a happy cute au!!!!!! maybe i'll write a version from thorins pov if people are interested

“I heard the king finally started courting him.” 

“Mahal,” exclaimed the other dwarf, her face pinched, “it is about time!” 

Bilbo frowned to himself as he stared down the bread stall. It was always difficult to choose the right loaf. The gossiping dwarrowdams made it harder. What were they talking about? He knew Thorin well. 

The dwarven king had not mentioned any courting. And Bilbo spent much of his time with him, when Thorin was not in meetings or court. There had been no one in particular he had mentioned either. At the least he thought his friend would tell him about this sort of thing. 

Was he wrong? 

Choosing a loaf after a final moment of contemplation, the only hobbit under the mountain turned on his heels. Ah well. They were gossiping dwarrowdams, anyway. He passed them, unintentionally catching one of their eyes. She hid a laugh and her dusty pink cheeks behind her hand. The two appeared to be from the Weavers Guild. That figured, Bilbo thought. The Weavers were the gossipiest bunch of dwarves he’d ever met. Dori included, despite how he held himself. 

Bilbo sighed and hefted his basket. The market almost always ended up as an ordeal he didn’t enjoy enduring. In the Shire he ran into a similar amount of gossip and he did not care for it as much as other hobbits did. Thorin’s suggestion had been to send a guard for the groceries he wanted. Bilbo had balked at the idea. 

No dwarf could pick out the right food for a hobbit! 

He endured the nature of the dwarven market for his stomach. Said stomach reminded him that tea time neared. Bilbo hurried out of the market. He had an appointment to keep. Either he ignored or didn’t notice the looks being tossed his way as he darted through the milling dwarves. 

For his luck, he had remembered the tea leaves this time. They were not his personal favorite but a _certain_ dwarf enjoyed them more than anything else. Bilbo had clucked his tongue when he’d heard the assertion. 

Dwarves had no taste at all for the finer things. 

The guards didn’t acknowledge him as he entered the rooms. It was rare that they ever did. Bilbo frequented Thorin’s rooms and it would be a hassle if he had to wait to be let in every time. He came to a pause as the heavy doors closed behind him. The rooms Thorin had refurbished were frankly enormous and Bilbo had lived alone in a smial meant for a large hobbit brood. They opened up with a comfortable sitting room, though Thorin hardly ever met him here. True to that, the dwarf king was nowhere in his sights. 

Usually, they would have tea together in the study or, though less frequent, the actual tea room. To cut the second out on his way, Bilbo peeked into the tea room. No king. He turned back down the hall. 

Ah. The study door was cracked open. 

He didn’t mean to, but even on the dwarven stone hobbit feet were light. The door to the study pushed open quietly as well. Bilbo paused in the doorway. 

Thorin had his crown off. This wasn’t an uncommon sight to Bilbo. Even though Fili had crafted his uncle a new crown, the weight of it still made him wary. Bilbo was not as used to seeing the dwarf’s hair gathered together in a braid that spilled over his shoulder. Or the spectacles perched on his regal nose.

He would deny the ache of his heart in that moment. 

The dwarf turned his head to the side as he moved the scroll on the desk. With the movement, Thorin caught sight of Bilbo. He turned around in his seat. 

“Oh, Bilbo! I did not hear you,” the dwarf stood, setting his spectacles aside. “Is it time for tea?”

As he looked at the dwarf, Bilbo wondered for a moment about the gossip in the market. He could ask, casually, if Thorin was in fact courting someone. His eyes fell to the scrolls on Thorin’s desk. 

“I thought today was your day off, Thorin.” 

Thorin had moved toward the basket but he stopped guiltily. “They are merely reports Balin wished for me to look over...”

“On your day off.”

“Aye.” Thorin sighed. “They are about the progress of the agriculture?”

Bilbo rolled his eyes and turned back out of the room, marching to the kitchen. He listened to the dwarf’s footfalls a few steps behind him. Although it would have been better if the kettle had already been set up, it would let them spend more time together. 

“I remind you that I do not actually find the agriculture part of food very interesting, Thorin,” he said, filling the kettle. He set it over the stove’s fire and stood back. “The cooking and eating are the parts I like.”

“I know,” groused Thorin, peeking in the basket. 

Bilbo smacked his hand. “Stop that.” 

“You stopped by the market?” 

“Hm,” Bilbo nodded, and remembered the dwarrowdam’s words again. “Has anything, ah, interesting happened?”

“Since I saw you yesterday?” Thorin asked, his voice amused. “I assure you, my friend, I would have told you if anything more interesting than the reports had come my way.” 

The hobbit relaxed his shoulders. That was right. He and Thorin were close friends. There was no reason that Thorin would hide anything from him. If someone had come into Thorin’s life, he would have said. 

“Let’s have a look at those reports then.” Bilbo said, sitting down at the cozy kitchen table. 

\--

He did not do it very often but Bilbo sometimes enjoyed breakfast in his rooms, by himself. Breakfast with the company involved much more energy than he thought should be expended so early in the morning. 

That was the main reason Bilbo was sat at his table, eating his first breakfast when the knock on his door sounded. He frowned at the offending door. Mealtimes were not be interrupted. The knock sounded again, more insistent, and Bilbo stood grumpily. 

It had better be worth the interruption. 

The dwarf on the other side of the door shrunk back from him slightly. From an outside view, he imagined the reaction was hilarious. Like any dwarf, this dwarf towered over him a good deal. Yet he cowered away from the hobbit. 

“Can I help you?” Bilbo smiled tightly. 

“Oh, um, I have a...” the dwarf held out a small, wrapped box. “A gift to be delivered to you.”

Bilbo stared at the box and then sighed heavily. He did take it, reluctantly. There was no point in asking about the sender. All the gifts he received were sent anonymously. It had become annoying. The dwarf bowed slightly and then left. 

The hobbit looked down at the box with a grumble under his breath. 

It had all started when Erebor had settled. The first gift had startled him and he’d panicked. That was how Dwalin and Nori had ended up in his rooms, inspecting the box for him. Despite the general acceptance of Bilbo by the dwarves, he knew there were those that did not trust him. A gift might have been a perfect way to hurt him. 

Though it hadn’t been so. 

“It’s a courting gift,” Nori had laughed, when they’d unboxed it. Dwalin’s mouth had twitched in amusement. 

“I don’t understand,” Bilbo had grumbled, confused and generally bewildered by the idea that anyone wanted to court him. 

“You are the hero of Erebor,” Dwalin had pointed out. His shit-eating grin accompanied the title that Bilbo hated hearing. 

Unfortunately, Bilbo had little use for the gift. He also had no idea who it was from. It wasn’t in his nature to be wasteful. Anything made from gold and used mostly as an ornament left Bilbo with little interest in it. Maybe if it had fit better with hobbit style, he might have liked it. 

In the end, he’d figured it might work best in the treasury along with the rest of the gold. It did have some value at least. 

Bilbo had continued to receive courting gifts though, all (mostly) anonymously and it came to the point where he began forwarding them to the treasury. There was just no point to it. They didn’t even know him! Hero of Erebor or not, he couldn’t accept any sort of courting that wasn’t based in actual feelings. 

He was bewildered by this gift. 

The guards knew to take any gifts addressed to him to the treasury, excluding ones from the Company. Besides, it had come while he was eating. That was too opportune. He wasn’t keeping a very strict schedule for when he ate breakfast on his own or with the company. 

Someone had had an idea that he would be there to receive it. They had snuck it past Bilbo’s system as well. 

He eyed it warily. Suddenly, Bilbo did not want to open it on his own. 

Luckily as he looked back out to the hall, he saw Fili passing by. 

“Fili!” 

The dwarf prince nearly skidded to a halt. He smiled at Bilbo, stepping into the door way. 

“Hello, Bilbo. What’s that?” He pointed at the box. 

“Oh, you know,” he sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about all the-”

“All the courting gifts you’ve been receiving?” Fili smiled cheekily. “Sure, I have heard you’re pretty popular. This one looks nice.”

“You think?” Bilbo glanced back down at the box. 

“The wrapping of the box itself is done well. Whoever sent this had it professionally wrapped. I guess that could mean two different things,” he held up two of his fingers as he talked, “either they’re compensating for the quality of the gift or they’re showing you that the outside is as good as the inside.”

“Which do you think?” He frowned at the box. 

“I don’t know,” the dwarf shrugged, “but you could open it. I am here so nothing bad will happen.”

“Alright...” Bilbo sighed and set the box on the table. He stared contemplatively at it. Fili bounced on his heels. “What?” 

“Nothing! I’m just curious what’s inside.”

“Don’t rush me and besides, it’s probably another useless gift anyway.” He grumbled and carefully unwrapped it. Truth be, he didn’t want to ruin the fine wrapping job. 

Whoever had done it didn’t deserve for it to be ripped to pieces. 

Fili now peered over his shoulder at the box. Bilbo forced him back with an elbow. Honestly, the dwarf was acting too much like his brother. It might have been better if Kili were there instead of Fili. At least Bilbo could deal with this sort of behavior from the younger dwarf. 

“I don’t know why you’re so interested,” said Bilbo, pulling off the lid. Whatever the box contained hid under sheets of gift paper. 

He stopped as he pulled the paper out to reveal it. It was frankly beautiful. Bilbo had received jewelry and other ornaments as courting gifts. But none of them were like this. He held it carefully in his hands, deciding to let Fili see it as well. 

Mostly because he couldn’t quite tell what it was for. It was certainly pretty. The fine metal and gems were crafted in a way that it appeared as a flower. The gems changed slightly in the light, although not very drastically. Bilbo was most surprised by how light it was. 

Fili let out a whistle. 

“What? What is it?” 

“Ah, right, it’s... for you hair? You’ve seen dwarves wearing hair ornaments before, I’m sure. This is excellently crafted.”

“I agree,” Bilbo nodded, holding it carefully. 

His hair might be just long enough for the ornament. Not only that, but it was designed as a flower. It didn’t exactly align with hobbit traditions but it was the closest of the courting gifts he had received. As he held it, he knew he wouldn’t be dropping it off as the treasury. 

He couldn’t. He found he wanted to wear it. More than that, he wanted to know who had made it for him. Clearly this was a dwarf who did know him. 

Fili kept making strange noises. 

“What is it now?” 

“Sorry, it’s only... you don’t know all the courting rules, right?” 

“I’m afraid I haven’t had time to brush up on dwarven courting,” Bilbo said, frowning at Fili before setting down the gift. “Is this wrong?”

“No, no,” Fili bit his lip. “There are seven gifts. The order they’re given in doesn’t matter too much, although the last gift is always the biggest. One of the gifts is for your hair, like that. Only... well, dwarves regard their hair and beards important. Hair ornament gifts are considered intimate and usually are reserved for one of the last gifts. Not the first!”

“So?”

“Well, whoever this dwarf is... they must be very serious about you,” he leaned closer to Bilbo, “they’re saying they don’t want to wait any longer than they have to.”

Bilbo looked back at the gift. Fili patted him on the shoulder. 

“Dwarves have pretty distinct crafting styles. You might be able to look around the market and the craft districts to see if you recognize their work.”

“Oh!” Bilbo nodded. “That’s a good idea...” 

“Are you going to accept the courtship?” There was a strange tone to Fili’s voice, like he was excited. 

“I don’t know, Fili.” Bilbo frowned. “I don’t know if I even know the dwarf who made this!”

“Right, right...” Fili smiled at him. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

“Late?”

“Weren’t you meeting with Thorin and I this morning?” 

Bilbo fell silent for a moment then his eyes widened. “I forgot! Oh, we should go!”

\--

“Did you like the gift?” 

Bilbo’s head whipped up in surprise. He stared back at Thorin. His eyebrows drew together. Oh, perhaps Fili had informed Thorin of the courting gift. Bilbo hadn’t had time during their meeting to mention it. 

“Actually, I.. I did.” Bilbo smiled a little. He was surprised by the satisfied look on Thorin’s face. “It was perfect.” 

Of course, Bilbo thought as Thorin smiled, Thorin would not care if Bilbo were being courted by another dwarf. They were friends. 

They were just friends. 

He looked back down at the scrolls. 

“Do you wish to accompany me to the market?” 

Bilbo glanced back up at Thorin. The dwarf stood there, his arms behind his back and an awkward look on his face. It wouldn’t hurt, he thought, and besides, he still had Fili’s suggestion to try. 

“I would,” he nodded and stood, straightening his scrolls. They would be there later. 

Thorin walked slowly, his head tilted slightly in Bilbo’s direction. Even if the dwarf were not wearing his crown and court robes, he was hard to miss. Visiting the market with Thorin meant they would probably be stopped every few feet. 

Ah, well, it would give him the time to inspect the dwarven crafts in the jewelry stalls. He didn’t want Thorin to notice him doing so. It would be embarrassing to admit to his friend that he had no idea at all who was courting him. 

“Is there anything you need?” They paused at the intersection of the market. 

“You’re the one who invited me to the market,” Bilbo teased, though he glanced down the way that most of the jewelry stalls were. 

“Ah,” Thorin smiled a little, “if you wanted to look at more jewelry, we can do that first.” 

“First?” Bilbo followed the dwarf as he began walking to the jewelers. 

“I thought we might have dinner together,” he said, pausing and smiling at a small group of dwarflings. They dragged his attention away from Bilbo. 

With a sigh, Bilbo wandered over to the nearest stall. Though the crafts were excellent, none of them looked anything like the one he had received. It felt strange to compare someone else’s work to these but it was his only option. He hoped the secret dwarf would reveal themself. 

That would be the sensible thing to do. 

He startled as Thorin rested a hand on his shoulder. Bilbo smacked a hand over his chest and glared at the dwarf. He smiled in response and dropped his hand as one of the dwarves approached them. 

“Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“Ah,” Thorin glanced at Bilbo. 

“No, no, just looking. Thank you.” He smiled tightly. 

He wanted to look in the area where they would have more hair ornaments. Though based on what Fili had told him, asking Thorin to go look at hair ornaments with him felt like it might be a step too much. Besides, Thorin knew the gift he had received and it would seem odd that he wanted to look at more. Especially since he probably wouldn’t be able to wear more than one hair ornament at a time.

Instead, he turned back towards the dwarf in question.  

“You said dinner?” 

“Oh aye.” Thorin beamed. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“We always have dinner together,” Bilbo’s eyebrows drew together. 

“I mean,” the dwarf cleared his throat. “Just with me. In my rooms.”

“Oh! Well, alright.” Bilbo smiled slightly. “I can cook for us.”

And there was no protest there. The hobbit marched off into the food section of the market. 

\--

The second gift arrived three weeks later. It had been long enough that Bilbo had nearly forgotten. He hadn’t worn the hair ornament yet but he displayed it in his study. It was pretty to look at.

But the fact that he should be expecting a series of six more gifts slipped his mind after the first week. 

Life in Erebor turned out to be very, very busy. Bilbo didn’t have an official position but he spent much of his time with Thorin. Even simply being there by his friend’s side caused Bilbo a similar amount of stress. He tried to help Thorin relax but the dwarf seemed set on being constantly stressed out. Bilbo felt certain that the dwarf was not getting nearly enough sleep. 

That wasn’t really his concern, but he found himself caring for Thorin more often than not. 

Bilbo knew he was hopeless but he was also helpless to it. 

Thus, when he walked back into his rooms on a late afternoon, he had no mind for the box. He stared dumbly at it for a long minute. A thought sparked in his mind as he recognized the wrapping. It was not identical, but it did remind him of the only gift he’d kept. 

No one was around and he knew no one was in the halls. 

The last gift hadn’t been dangerous and he decided to trust his gut. Whoever was actually courting him didn’t want to hurt him. They wouldn’t send anything dangerous. 

Like he had with the previous gift, he unwrapped the paper carefully and set it aside. Unlike the previous gift, this one was not hidden by gift paper. He was able to see the book set comfortably in the box. It was a pleasant surprise. 

Almost all the books that Bilbo had seen in the past months were written in Khuzdul. The familiar edges of letters he could understand greeted him as he fetched the book out of the box. His heart did a funny flip in his chest. This book appeared to be a translation of dwarven history. That in itself meant quite a lot, he knew. 

Just the other day he’d been complaining about having no material to read. Thorin had chuckled at him, asking what Bilbo thought he might find as suitable reading material in a mountain full of dwarves. 

There were poetic dwarves, he knew, but overall, most dwarves were not well-inclined with word arts. 

He stroked the edge of the book’s cover. It was a strange coincidence but he would take the book with him the next time he sat in Thorin’s rooms. 

Which he did. More and more frequently, he spent evenings in Thorin’s presence. The dwarf enjoyed the company while he finished work for the day or in rarer cases, relaxed. 

Thorin did not make a direct comment on the book. In fact, Bilbo wasn’t sure that the dwarf saw it until they’d sat down. Tonight Thorin was not buried up to his nose in reports and other papers. He reclined back in one of the armchairs, sipping at the black tea Bilbo had brought. 

(Thorin didn’t like it, by his face, but he endured the taste apparently.) 

As Bilbo set the book down next to him on one of the endtables, Thorin looked towards him. 

“How do hobbits court?” 

Bilbo blinked, his fingers lingering on the book in surprise. The question was blunt but he supposed it might have some base. He had mentioned the gift to others today. Word made its way around the mountain almost faster than it did in the Shire. 

Thorin probably had heard already about the second courting gift. Why he wanted to know about how hobbits courted didn’t make as much sense. Bilbo supposed the dwarf might only be curious. Or wonder how different this was for Bilbo. 

He wanted to say that you generally knew and were aware of the person courting you but it seemed rude. Even if the courting dwarf was not here. 

“Nothing like this,” he said instead. “From what I’ve been told, it’s a lot of work. We only have one gift exchanged and those are the love spoons. It’s more spending time together, cooking for one another, that sort of thing...”

If he thought about it too hard, Bilbo could easily place himself in the place of courting Thorin. The only missing piece was the love spoon but that was given at the end of the courtship, when one made the decision that they wanted to marry soon. 

“Love spoons?”

“Oh, hm...” Bilbo frowned. “I suppose that concept doesn’t exist in dwarven culture. It’s... a spoon, that you make for the one you want to marry. Hobbits use all sorts of material for them. My father carved the one for my mother but she had his made by a blacksmith.”

“Others are allowed to craft these gifts?” Thorin frowned. 

“Not all hobbits are endowed with crafting abilities like you dwarves are!” Bilbo rolled his eyes.  

“What would you do then?” 

“I do not think I have the crafting abilities to make one on my own,” Bilbo sighed, propping his head up. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure what he would design. It was very dependent on the person and the life you wanted with them. “Likely a metal...”

“You should ask Fili or Gloin for help.”

Bilbo considered the crown that Fili had crafted. It was the finest crafting he had ever seen, that was true. He hadn’t seen anything that Gloin had made though. 

“Gloin?”

“Oh, he does not craft like most dwarves do. But I am sure he would have more than a handful of trustworthy smiths to tell you. He has gifts commissioned for his wife all the time.”

Bilbo chuckled. He knew well as any member of the company did how much Gloin adored his wife. 

\-- 

The consternation on Bilbo’s face when he opened the third box, two weeks later, was fully displayed to Kili, Bifur, Bofur, and a highly amused Nori. 

The box itself had been much smaller than the previous two. He hadn’t been too shocked by that fact. Part of him had figured that the gifts wouldn’t all be the same size. Though he was relieved when the box had appeared smaller instead of larger. 

He wasn’t really sure what he would do with a large gift. 

Still, his mouth pulled down as he stared at the love spoon as though it had personally offended him. 

This was unexpected. The only dwarf he had told about the love spoons had been Thorin. Which meant, well, he supposed that meant Thorin knew his secret dwarf. That could explain why Thorin had been quick on asking him about the gifts. 

Bilbo felt baffled as he picked up the love spoon. 

They probably didn’t know that this signaled the end of a courtship. Bilbo hadn’t mentioned that. Then again, Fili had said that the first gift itself had said the dwarf did not want to prolong their courtship 

Nori elbowed Bofur while Kili leaned closer. 

“What’s it?”

“Oh,” Bilbo looked back up at the dwarves. He’d forgotten they were there in the moment. “It’s a love spoon.”

“Huh?” Nori reached for it and Bilbo brought it against his chest. 

“It’s... a hobbit tradition.” He defended. “Although these are gifted at the end of a courtship.”

“You made one yet?” Bofur peeked at the spoon as well. 

“Well no! I have no idea what I would do... or who I would even ask for that matter. Who makes spoons around here?” 

Before he could say anything more on the matter, Bifur had begun signing and talking harshly in Khuzdul. Bofur nodded along with him and smiled at Bilbo. 

“There are a couple dwarves who would probably help you, including us! I mean, if you make these love spoons out of wood. Do you?”

Bilbo rolled his eyes, looking back down at the love spoon as the dwarves continued talking about the pros and cons of material for a spoon. This one had been crafted out of a metal, Bilbo would guess it was mostly likely silver. It had a unique design on it, a pattern of flowers climbing up the spoon’s handle. On the end, it had a gem that looked to be the same as the ones used in the hair ornament. 

The crafting style looked the same too. He wasn’t very good at parsing that out but he could tell with these. Whoever this was, they were very intent. 

\-- 

The remaining gifts were delivered closer and closer together in the following two weeks. Bilbo had found that they were all relevant to his interests. When they were very dwarf-specific, he found that they were extremely useful. The sixth gift he had received, a few days ago, was a frankly gorgeous tea set. 

The tea cups were painted carefully and in a way that Bilbo would have thought it had taken ages to do. Even the kettle had the same flowering pattern that had been consistent on nearly all the gifts he had received. 

He supposed the seventh and last gift was on its way. What would he do then?

No one had told him exactly what to do. It was more complicated with the fact that he hadn’t figured out who the dwarf was. That fact alone stressed him out more than anything else. 

He hadn’t seen Thorin since he had received the tea set, either. The dwarf had been extremely busy. 

It left Bilbo disappointed. 

Bilbo found himself alone in his rooms again, in the afternoon. Most times he would be running about Erebor and trying to offer help. Today though he felt no motivation to be all over the mountain kingdom. 

Thus, he was paging through the history book when a knock sounded at his door. It had become a common enough occurrence that he didn’t feel too much irritation answering. 

The dwarf on the other side gave him a polite smile. They did not have a box but handed him a piece of paper. Bilbo blinked and stared at the note in confusion. He didn’t recognize the writing on it. 

However, he had to assume it was from his secret dwarf. The note asked that he meet them at a spot just outside of the market. Bilbo bit his lip and then looked at the other gifts. Everything had been perfect, like he had told Thorin... 

Bilbo turned around and then went into his wardrobe. He might as well dress nicely. This was the big moment, he guessed, the moment that he would finally know the dwarf who had been wooing him from the shadows. 

He tried to ignore the ache in his heart accompanying the hope that it might be a certain dwarf. 

\--

Bilbo twisted the bracelet he’d added to his wardrobe. It was the fifth gift he had received. The hobbit didn’t really consider himself someone that wore jewelry like this but he thought it would be a good addition. 

A good way to show his dwarf that he was interested, at the least. 

None of the dwarves that had been passing by the area had done much more than glance at him though. He’d caught a few of them gossiping as they went by but they were too far away for him to hear what they were saying. 

He sighed in mild irritation. It was only a couple minutes past the indicated time to meet but he didn’t appreciate people being late. 

“Bilbo?”

Said hobbit startled a little and turned around. He stared in bewilderment at Thorin. The king was dressed as regally as ever, and he looked like he hadn’t slept at all in the last few days. His eyes were looking Bilbo over. They paused briefly on the bracelet that Bilbo had been messing with. 

Then he smiled. 

“Thorin? What...?” Bilbo felt his heart quicken. 

“Are you ready? I thought we could figure out what would be a good dinner for me to cook,” Thorin smiled more. 

“Oh, oh, I...” Bilbo stuttered a little. Everything pieced together quickly in his head. 

It all made sense, now, as he thought about it. Each gift had been very particular. They’d been so specific to his interests and the things he’d gripped to Thorin about. The love spoon in particular should have tipped him off. He’d only told Thorin about it... Thorin had been curious to know how the gifts were received and then he had wanted to incorporate Bilbo’s traditions into his courting. 

Goodness. 

His floundering did concern the dwarf though. 

“Bilbo? Did you not... did you not know it was me?” Thorin looked flabbergasted. 

Bilbo stared back at him, opening his mouth and then closing it. “You never told me!”

“I thought you knew!” Thorin gasped. “Mahal, Bilbo... you never said anything.”

“Well I didn’t know it was you!” Bilbo crossed his arms. “You know, you should have given me the love spoon last.”

“What?” Thorin blinked.

“The love spoon! It’s meant to be given when you’re ready to end the courtship.” Bilbo squeezed his hands together. 

“Oh, you didn’t say that.” Thorin frowns at him. 

“It doesn’t matter now but...” he sighs. “We won’t be able to end our courtship until I’m done with your love spoon.”

Thorin’s eyes widened. 

“Oh, and we should definitely go into the market now, if we want to get any good ingredients for dinner! How much have you cooked? I was thinking you could make something simple...” 

When Thorin took his hand, Bilbo hid his smile as he looked at the vegetables. His heart fluttered when the dwarf pressed closer to look over his shoulder. 


End file.
